What forevermore will baffle me is the willing and yea, intentional refusal by really educated people to be scripturally born again.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" ... (Romans 10:13)
God has made salvation free and easy (I know .. Jesus paid, but for THIS comment ...) .. and all a man need do is ask to be saved.
I appreciate Mark pinging me to these threads but I am SO baffled as to why there is such a long, ongoing thread/commentary in the first place.
I remember the moment I was saved ... no, really ... I do.
Up Fallen Timber Rd at Eddie Klien's kitchen table at about 7:30 PM.
Eddie had witnessed to me and asked me if I would like to be saved and I was so under conviction I of course, said "yes" and prayed a short prayer asking for forgiveness and would You (Jesus) please come into my life and save me"
No bells nor whistles, no "Halleluia's" descernding from the ceiling, no slain in the spirit convulsions or anythinhg ... actually ... there was pretty close to nothing ... except .... now I was tired and I wanted to go to bed.
I awoke the next morning with a remarkable peace.
(I'm omitting a LOT of the peripherals in my testimony, here)
SOMETHING had happened to me and in a couple of months I started attending an independent, fundamental Baptist church where I ALLOWED a man talk to me like I had NEVER allowed before in my life.
That last sentence is what I believe is a key to understanding the unwilling to be saved.
I too was educated and somewhat cerebral and quite frankly a pretty good disciple of the devil, so I was familiar with fancily connected wording.
What I heard (and HAVE heard since August 1981), just plain made sense !
These threads you guys get involved in spend so much time trying to use words to convince the unwilling to hear ... to believe.
I think the one(s) you converse with DO understand and, academically, agree with everything you say but .... there really IS a devil on their left shoulder threatening .. "Don't you DARE say you believe those words other than the ones I'VE taught you and just the WAY I've taught you!" .....
.............. and they don't.
It is not presumptive to hear or read simple, one syllable words, understand them and, if there is a command to ACT on those words ... you do.
That's not presumptive, that's sanity.
HAH ! .. Look at me .... using half a dictionary's worth of words to argue against using a half a dictionary's worth of words to confound the simple, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved".
English is not a difficult language to understand
Daniel 12:2
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Great testimony, Bro! I, too, had to break down and get simply convicted, with the Words of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, and that in the middle of finishing my PhD in spectroscopy. On! Forward!